News
‘Ingenious’ operators turn pragya into ‘chamber and hall’
Neccessity is the mother of invention, is a well known proverb which means difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions.
Some Rickshaw (pragya or Mahama can do) drivers at Alabar, suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Regional Capital, have turned their rickshaws into “chamber and a hall” and sleep in them at night.
And to make the place very comfortable for them to enjoy the night, these smart youngmen cover the rickshaws with insecticide treated bed nets to keep mosquitoes away from interfering with their sleep.
They, however, use the pragya to convey passengers during the day and use them as rooms at night.
The photographs depict riders living in the populated community with open gutters which breed a lot of mosquitoes.
Issahaku Mohammed, a rider who spoke with The SPECTATOR said, “it is for our own safety and a form of personal protection which has reduced malaria in the area.”
He said, they usually spent much time taking fresh air outside during the night, and in order not to be bitten by mosquitoes he used the bed nets as form of protection.
According to him, the bed nets served also as a barrier to prevent children from having access to the tricycles when they were left outside.
Hudu Zakaria, a scrap dealer also said he had been “sleeping in the tricycle under a treated mosquito net for the past three years” because he did not have accommodation.
He said, the insecticides used for treating bed nets “repel and kill mosquitoes, as well as other insects.”
Madam Agnes Amankwah, a retired nurse and a Licensed Over-the-Counter drug store owner in the area said “the protection that a mosquito net provides against malaria doubles when the net is treated with insecticide.”
She added that, the chemical used to treat the net would lose its effect if it was over exposed in the open and advised the people to change the nets as frequently as possible to make them effective in malaria prevention.
From Geoffrey Buta, Kumasi
A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Sammy Ayeh has picked up nomination forms to contest for the position of Deputy National Communications Officer position.
Announcing his intention, Dr. Ayeh said he is offering himself to help communicate the party’s vision clearly and connect its message with the aspirations of Ghanaians.
He expressed deep gratitude to the party’s National Communications Officer, Lawyer Sammy Gyamfi, describing him as an able leader on whose shoulders he has risen.
“His exceptional leadership, mentorship and confidence in me have shaped my journey and strengthened my resolve to serve,” Dr. Ayeh stated.
He said if elected, he will seek to build on that foundation by strengthening research-driven communication, empowering grassroots communicators, and enhancing strategic media engagement.
Dr. Ayeh humbly appealed to party members and supporters for their support.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Data Protection Commission has called on the Minority Caucus in Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JoyNews and other media houses to protect the personal information of 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the Commission expressed concern over the public disclosure of the evacuees’ personal details, including their names, signatures and records of financial assistance received.
It warned that making such information public could expose the affected individuals to identity theft, fraud and other forms of harm, especially given the threats to their safety that some of them may have faced.
The Commission explained that the 1992 Constitution protects the dignity and privacy of every individual. It also cited the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843), which sets out rules for the lawful collection, use and disclosure of personal information.
While acknowledging the importance of transparency, parliamentary oversight, the right to information and press freedom, the Commission stressed that these principles do not automatically justify the unrestricted publication of personal details.
It said the disclosure of the records by the Minority Caucus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JoyNews and other media organisations must be assessed based on the law, the purpose of the disclosure and the privacy rights of the individuals involved.
The Commission further noted that although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Parliament are registered data controllers in good standing, their registration does not exempt them from their legal responsibilities under the Data Protection Act.
It has therefore urged all the parties involved to take appropriate steps to protect the affected individuals, including immediately restricting access to or removing personal details from publicly available records where their continued disclosure is not legally justified.
The Commission announced plans to conduct a regulatory review to determine whether the disclosures had a lawful basis, what safeguards were applied and whether the privacy rights of the evacuees had been adequately protected.
It said it would engage the relevant parties as part of the review and take appropriate regulatory action if any breach of the law is established.
The Commission reiterated that protecting personal information and respecting human dignity must remain central to efforts to promote public accountability.
By: Jacob Aggrey
